Bennett, of Plant City, Fla., captured the marathon of women's swimming in an Olympic record 8 minutes, 19.67 seconds -- lowering the old mark of 8:20.20 set by Evans at the 1988 Olympics.

The 20-year-old became the first woman since Evans in 1988 to sweep the 400 and 800 freestyles.

"It's so exciting, so overwhelming to get two gold medals and break records," said Bennett, who was 3.45 seconds off Evans' 12-year-old world record of 8:16.22.

"Her times are the ones everybody looks at. I told myself that someday I'd like to break her records," she said.

As the water stopped rocking at the end of the 50 freestyle, the Americans shared a joyous hug and Ervin leaned over to tell Hall, "It couldn't have ended up any better."

Bennett was 16 when she won the 800 freestyle at the Atlanta Olympics, where Evans closed her stellar career with a sixth-place finish. Bennett joined Evans as the only women to win two consecutive Olympic 800 freestyle titles.

"To do it again four years later is definitely something great," Bennett said. "I'm proud of myself."